Argentina defender Cristian Romero has labeled former Manchester United player Gary Neville as "stupid" for his criticism of the centre-back partnership he shares with Lisandro Martinez. Neville had described Romero and Martinez as "the best, worst centre-half pairing in the world" in the lead-up to Argentina's World Cup semi-final victory.
Romero, speaking after Argentina's 2-1 win against England, which secured their place in the World Cup final, directly addressed Neville's punditry. "The only thing that I hope for is that when I retire, I am not that stupid. Hopefully I won't criticise a player or anyone," Romero told DSports. He added, "Because at the end of the day, we are doing our best for our national team. Sometimes it goes right for us, sometimes badly, but we are just happy to be in a World Cup final again."
Despite the criticism, Romero and Martinez have been key figures in Argentina's World Cup campaign, starting all but one of their matches and helping the team reach their second consecutive final. Both defenders were booked during the semi-final match. Martinez also commented on the repeated scrutiny, stating, "We're used to people always talking about us. It seems like they like doing it, and we respond on the pitch, that's it, always with respect."
Romero expressed pride in the team's achievement, saying, "I think we are making history, for us it is something really huge, and we feel the significance of this shirt like no-one else."